Unruly Labor A History of Oil in the Arabian Sea

"Unruly Labor offers a highly original, meticulously researched account of the lifeworlds of oil workers across South Asia, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Andrea Wright illuminates labor as a crucial force that shaped twentieth-century notions of nationalism, class, and social justice."
-Peyman Jafari, William & Mary "This is a beautifully written and fascinating account of labor action, solidarity, as well as fragmentation. Reading archival sources with an ethnographer's eye, Andrea Wright brings to life the connections and struggles of managers, officials, and workers that shaped the social worlds and hierarchies of the oil industry."
-Mandana Limbert, CUNY Graduate Center "Unruly Labor shifts our scales of analysis of oil production, and changes how we think about empire, labor, and state-building in the Arabian Peninsula. Rich in narrative detail, it provides much-needed historical context to our understanding of the political economy of oil and makes a valuable contribution to discussions of contemporary labor regimes."
-Farah Al-Nakib, Cal Poly "Wright not only offers readers a window into the working conditions of the laborers recruited into the oil industry but also examines how workers fought back to improve those conditions.... Highly recommended."-M. F. Cairo, CHOICE